Source: European Parliament
Question for written answer E-002736/2025
to the Commission
Rule 144
Irena Joveva (Renew), Sirpa Pietikäinen (PPE), Hilde Vautmans (Renew), Nathalie Loiseau (Renew), Fabienne Keller (Renew), Bernard Guetta (Renew), Benoit Cassart (Renew), Olivier Chastel (Renew), Anna-Maja Henriksson (Renew), Stine Bosse (Renew), Marjan Šarec (Renew), Vlad Vasile-Voiculescu (Renew), Daniel Freund (Verts/ALE), Klára Dobrev (S&D), Csaba Molnár (S&D), Sophie Wilmès (Renew), Matjaž Nemec (S&D), Martin Hojsík (Renew), Hristo Petrov (Renew), Malik Azmani (Renew), Laurence Farreng (Renew), Marie-Pierre Vedrenne (Renew), Veronika Cifrová Ostrihoňová (Renew), Kim Van Sparrentak (Verts/ALE)
Recent reports allege that over EUR 1 billion in state advertising was abused to fund pro-government media in Hungary, distorting its domestic market in a way that is highly detrimental to free and independent media. Furthermore, parliamentary inquiries in other Member States have revealed that this model extends across borders, with Hungarian entities using these funds to financially support political allies’ media outlets abroad.
This conduct – using public funds in an opaque and biased manner to capture media service providers and gain political advantage – is precisely what the EMFA seeks to prevent. Article 25 requires state advertising to be awarded via transparent, objective and non-discriminatory criteria.
While these past actions appear to breach State aid rules, the application of Article 25 as from 8 August 2025 provides a crucial new tool.
In the light of this:
- 1.What action is the Commission taking regarding these apparent breaches of State aid rules, and is it undertaking a preliminary assessment of the reported situation in Hungary to prepare for the swift enforcement of Article 25 EMFA?
- 2.What preparatory measures is the Commission taking to effectively counter systemic, cross-border media financing schemes designed for political influence, immediately upon the full application of the EMFA?
Submitted: 4.7.2025